BY KRISTIN BOYD
Correspondent
Senior communities in Old Bridge and South River are getting on board with the Middlesex County Community Shuttle Program, which is expanding to include stops in the township and nearby borough.
“We’re very excited,” said Nancy Reich, program social service coordinator at the Old Bridge Senior Center. “It’s a positive program, and [seniors] are always very receptive to new programs. They want to know more about it.”
About 90 residents visit the Senior Center on weekdays, according to Reich. The seniors, she said, are thrilled about the county’s expanded service and look forward to being some of the first passengers to take a ride on the shuttle next week.
A few miles away in South River, residents and officials are just as excited about the shuttle service. The borough boasts about 2,000 senior residents, and more than half of those are active with the Office on Aging and Senior Center, said Amy Berg, human services director.
“We are ecstatic,” she said. “It’s something that we’ve needed for a long time in town. We have two large senior complexes that will benefit immensely.”
In addition to seniors, the expanded services will also help those with disabilities and residents who have no transportation, officials said. The service will give them easier access to shopping centers, professional offices, food markets and other businesses in both their area and neighboring towns.
The new routes will run between Birchwood in Old Bridge and Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick. At that point, passengers could access NJ Transit buses and the MCAT Brunswick Square Mall-Jamesburg shuttle that has various stops in East Brunswick, Spotswood, Helmetta, Monroe and Jamesburg.
The routes will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a shuttle arriving at each stop every hour. The shuttle will stop twice a day at the South River Senior Center.
The suggested fare is $1 for adults and children, and 50 cents for seniors and residents with disabilities.
“There is an incredible need to provide transportation in the southern part of the county, where public transportation opportunities are limited,” said Freeholder H. James Polos, chairman of the county’s Public Works and Transportation Committee, in a press release.
“We are building on the success of the Brunswick Square Mall-Jamesburg shuttle,” he added. “This new shuttle was developed in response to the needs of the senior citizens, advocated by the mayors of Old Bridge, South River and East Brunswick.”
The MCAT Brunswick Square Mall-Jamesburg shuttle, created in June 2005, continues to grow in popularity and is becoming a viable transportation option for many residents, officials said.
“It’s great that the Board of Chosen Freeholders appreciates the need for mass transit in the southern towns and is actively working to find real solutions,” East Brunswick Mayor William P. Neary said. “The MCAT shuttle program is a great service for our residents.”
In the past year, ridership on the Brunswick Square Mall-Jamesburg shuttle has increased from 100 passenger trips a day to more than 200 passenger trips per day, according to Steven Fittante, director of the county’s Department of Transportation.
The MCAT expanded shuttle service will piggyback on Old Bridge’s existing transportation program, which brings residents to and from the Senior Center, according to Mayor James Phillips.
“Though this shuttle will serve anyone in the three towns, the seniors in particular think this is a great idea,” Phillips said in a press release.
South River Mayor Robert P. Szegeti agreed, saying, “The MCAT shuttle will link our residents to various parts of the county and open up avenues to them they may not have had before.”
County and township officials will hold three press conferences next Thursday to give an overview of the expanded shuttle program and allow some residents to take a ride on the new routes. The events are scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Senior Center in Old Bridge, noon at the Senior Center at South River and 1 p.m. at the Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick.